Barnson was engaged by Fire & Rescue NSW to project manage the construction of the new retained Fire Station building at Gulgong. Barnson assisted FRNSW throughout the tender, contracts and construction stages and acted as the site Superintendent.

An updated bushfire season outlook has been released by the Bushfire & Natural Hazards CRC and AFAC following the second wettest winter on record. As can be seen from this map, the entire central part of NSW has now been identified as being subject to an ‘above normal’ bushfire potential.

Five new members who have joined the Barnson team this year have given the team a real boost, with their diversity in age and experience complementing the existing skill set of our Dubbo and Bathurst offices.

Three new members who have joined the Barnson team this year have given the team a real boost, with their diversity in age and experience complementing the existing skill set of our Dubbo and Bathurst offices. One is working in our Dubbo soil testing lab in his gap year, with the other two are student engineeers with our Bathurst team.

When Jeremy Wiatkowski joined the Barnson team in Dubbo as a draftsman in 2008, he never envisaged developing a smartphone app or using a drone to photograph major projects. But they are just some of the exciting opportunities his role has provided Jeremy with over the past eight years.

Jeremy now works in the soil testing and geotechnical lab where he has the opportunity to put his strong interest in technology to good use. He says the most rewarding part of his role is developing innovative new systems to simplify day-to-day work. His latest innovation is a smartphone app he is developing to allow the laboratory technicians to efficiently test and issue reports.

Barnson is excited to be partnering with the Charles Sturt University Foundation Trust Scholarships Program to offer the Barnson Engineering Scholarship for the first time in 2016.

The scholarship is open to students who will be enrolling in CSU's new Engineering program and studying the Bachelor of Technology / Master of Engineering (Civil Systems), commencing in 2016. It enhances the strong relationship that Barnson already has with CSU as an early industry partner for the work placement component of the new course.

We believe that engineers make a difference to our communities and we look forward to supporting a student who is motivated to undertake this unique new engineering course here in central west NSW.

A report released by NSW Planning and Infrastructure this week shows that increasing numbers of home builders are using the fast track assessment process known as "complying development" to get faster and cheaper approvals for new homes and renovations.

The 2012-13 Local Development Performance Monitoring Report shows that complying development made up 25% of all housing approvals, up 12% on the previous 12 months. It took NSW councils an average of 17 days to determine complying development applications (DAs), compared to 68 days for regular development applications - saving time and money for all parties.

Barnson has new Geospatial Analyst and Cartographer operating out of its Mudgee office, increasing the range of mapping and geospatial services available. Dennis Capparelli comes to Barnson with experience from an international engineering consultancy company, where he undertook a variety of projects for a vast range of clients in different disciplines.

Two rezoning projects have been the focus of the town planning staff at Barnson’s Mudgee office this year.

Both the development application for a 40-lot residential subdivision being managed by Barnson on Melton Road at Mudgee and the rezoning of 50 industrial lots on Hill End Road are at the consultation stage, with community and/or agency comment being sought by the Mid-Western Regional Council.

Work is close to completion on a $12 million, six star “greenstar” rated university building that Barnson was instrumental in designing in western Sydney.

Barnson was part of a winning design tender with JDH architects for the prestigious two-storey lecture theatre and teaching rooms that form part of the Nirimba educational precinct at the University of Western Sydney’s Quakers Hill campus. Barnson has provided the structural, civil and geotechnical consultancy components of the design.

Barnson has been recognised for the work it completed in renovating Sporties Dubbo, formerly the Railway Bowling Club, taking out the Commercial Alterations and Additions award in the 2013 Design Awards. The awards were presented by NSW branch of the Building Designers Association of Australia at a gala presentation on Friday 23 August.

The Sporties renovation was been recognised in the Commercial Alterations and Additions and Commercial Interiors categories of the awards. NSW winners will compete in the national awards in 2014.

When Dubbo’s Railway Bowling Club first approached Barnson, their brief was to help them meet the future needs of the club and its members. The club knew it needed to create a more welcoming atmosphere and reconfigure the layout that had become like a rabbit warren as a result of various renovations in the club’s 59-year history.

The eight-month project was completed during 2012 at a cost of $1.35 million, with the added challenge of completing most of the work in the early hours of the morning so the club could remain operational and cause a minimum of disruption to members and visitors. There is now a new indoor and outdoor poker machine room, offices, a new foyer and new function rooms.

One of the biggest challenges of any refurbishment, renovation or building project is pulling it all together – from start to finish.

This all takes time, energy and knowledge and relies on the relationships you have with all the specialists, professionals and tradespeople along the way. Barnson have been managing projects for more than 12 years and have experience in ensuring everything from office buildings to a regional shopping centre, medium density housing projects and multi-purpose centres, schools, sporting clubs and even a fire station meet the needs and expectations of their occupants.

The Sporties renovation was been recognised in the Commercial Alterations and Additions and Commercial Interiors categories of the awards. NSW winners will compete in the national awards in 2014.

The Barnson team is excited to be partnering with Dubbo City Council to develop an international-standard athletics facility, which will be the biggest of its kind west of the Blue Mountains.

Barnson won the tender to design the $5.3 million Barden Park Regional Centre of Excellence for Athletics in north Dubbo. Dubbo Mayor Mathew Dickerson said the results of an independent study suggested the facility would boost participation in sport across the region, create almost 40 full-time jobs and contribute $4.5 million in gross regional product.

EDEVELOPMENT: Since 1974, Brisbane's CBD has sprung up on riverside land once used only for industry, port activities and storage. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

ONE of the most common reactions to the recent inundation of homes in Brisbane is that town planning has been at fault.

As someone who was starting a career in town planning in 1974, I can say that, in the ensuing 36 years, there has been a high level of consciousness about flooding and its implications in town-planning practice in southeast Queensland.

That said, however, there has been a revolution in land use in the central part of the city since the time of the 1974 floods.